The present invention is directed, in general, to telecommunication systems and, more specifically, to a system and method for redirecting control of in-band signaling functions from the calling party to a party other than the calling party.
For years, the party placing a telephone call (the xe2x80x9ccalling partyxe2x80x9d) has been primarily responsible for initiating the pulses, tones or other signaling codes that cause telephone network equipment, such as switches, to route the calling party""s call through a telephone network to a desired destination. In other words, signaling control has rested in the hands of the calling party. To date, the only exception to this. rule has been a telephone operator (or, synonymously, xe2x80x9cattendantxe2x80x9d), who has been allowed to exert unique signaling control over the calling party""s call by virtue of special signaling connections between the attendant and the telephone equipment.
It is best to convey this traditional relationship by way of example. A calling party wishing to place a call must first take a telephone instrument off-hook. The calling party must then dial or press digits corresponding to the destination number (xe2x80x9cDTNxe2x80x9d) desired, thereby causing the telephone instrument to generate pulses or tones (xe2x80x9ccontrol signalsxe2x80x9d)to direct the telephone equipment to place the call through the network. If any further digits are required to complete the call, the calling party has been responsible for supplying the digits when prompted.
If the calling party does not know the DTN (and therefore requires directory assistance) or needs other help (such as conferencing or international access), the calling party has been required to call the telephone operator to employ the operator""s assistance to find the DTN or complete the call. Again, the operator""s special signaling connections with the telephone equipment have given the operator the signaling control required to perform these functions.
While this arrangement has been suitable in the past, it has become particularly disadvantageous in today""s telephony world. First, the telephone network itself has become vastly more complicated. As computer systems have been integrated into the network, calling parties have found themselves entering digits to navigate through menus, traverse private branch exchanges (xe2x80x9cPBXsxe2x80x9d), place their own international calls or access new services, such as electronic banking by phone or voice mailboxes. Today""s telephone calls often resemble a computer session more than they do a person-to-person conversation.
Second, it is becoming apparent that large, centralized attendant centers staffed with banks of attendants are expensive to operate. Of course, such centers have been necessary in the past, because they required special signaling connections with, and therefore proximity to, the telephone equipment. However, it would be advantageous to provide the same or better level of customer service by means of a more economical alternative.
Third, some parties are more experienced, better located or better equipped than others to perform signaling functions. For instance, a calling party may wish to participate in, and pay for, a conference call, but has no idea how to generate the control signals to establish one. Apart from enlisting an attendant (at some cost), the calling party currently has no alternative but to muddle through the conferencing procedure personally.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a way of eliminating the need for the special signaling connections that are currently required to allow a party other than the calling party to control the signaling for the calling party""s call.
If such signaling could be performed over an ordinary voice channel, today""s centralized xe2x80x9cattendant centersxe2x80x9d could then become virtual, with the attendants being geographically distributed, perhaps even performing their jobs from their homes. Further, parties other than operators could control signaling and thereby xe2x80x9cstep into the shoesxe2x80x9d of calling parties, allowing more capable, better located or better equipped parties to control signaling for calls they themselves did not originate.
To address this objective and therefore overcome the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides, in a telecommunication system having a network switch capable of independently controlling inbound and outbound call legs, a system for, and method of, redirecting in-band control of signaling pertaining to a call placed by a calling party and a system for providing automatic call completion from the calling party to a called party.
The control redirecting system includes: (1) call control circuitry, associated with the network switch, for routing the call from the calling party to another party through the network switch, the call thereby having an inbound leg from the calling party to the network switch and an outbound leg from the network switch to the other party and (2) call control redirection circuitry for treating the outbound leg of the call as a second inbound leg from the other party to the network switch and monitoring in-band control signals received from the other party via the second inbound leg, the call control redirection circuitry thereby allowing the other party to issue the in-band control signals to the call control circuitry.
The present invention therefore introduces the broad concept of allowing a party other than the calling party to issue in-band control signals or commands to the call control circuitry. This allows the other party to xe2x80x9cstep into the shoesxe2x80x9d of the calling party with respect to signaling via a simple voice channel (the second inbound leg). Since the present invention allows redirection of control via a voice channel, the other party needs no special connection with, or proximity to, the network switch.
For purposes of the present invention, xe2x80x9cin-bandxe2x80x9d is defined as being within a voice channel (carried over, for example, an analog household telephone line, or such as an Integrated Services Digital Network (xe2x80x9cISDNxe2x80x9d)B-channel), as opposed to a signaling or control channel (such as an ISDN D-channel or a Signaling System 7 (xe2x80x9cSS7xe2x80x9d) channel). In other words, -in-band control signals traverse the same channel (or xe2x80x9cbandxe2x80x9d)as the substantive voice, video or computer data exchanged between the calling and other parties.
In one embodiment, the present invention allows the other party to take control over signaling upon the issuance of a particular control signal. For purposes of the present invention, xe2x80x9csignalingxe2x80x9d is broadly defined to include any signaling, call processing, call progress or call control function.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the other party is a party other than a called party, the system allowing the other party to complete a call from the calling party to the called party. In a more specific embodiment to be described hereinafter, the present invention enables automatic call completion, whereby an operator (or attendant) may assume control over the signaling functions of a calling party""s call. Automatic call completion allows the attendant to complete the calling party""s call without requiring the calling party to exert control over the signaling. Alternatively, the other party is the called party itself, the system allowing the called party to issue the in-band control signals to the call control circuitry.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises a voice response unit (xe2x80x9cVRUxe2x80x9d), associated with the call control circuitry, for receiving in-band voice commands issued from the other party. Alternatively or additionally, the in-band control signals are dual-tone multifrequency (xe2x80x9cDTMFxe2x80x9d)commands. In-band signaling of any type, however, is within the scope of the present invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the call control circuitry places the calling party on hold while the other party issues the in-band control signals to the network switch. By placing the calling party on hold, this embodiment frees the calling party from having to hear any in-band signaling. Furthermore, the network switch is caused to ignore any spurious in-band control signals that the calling party may generate. Control is thereby vested solely in the other party.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the call control circuitry allows the calling party to monitor the outbound leg while the other party issues the in-band control signals to the network switch. In this embodiment, the calling party can hear the in-band control signals and, more specifically, the progress of the call. As in the previous embodiment, the network switch may be caused to ignore any spurious in-band control signals that the calling party may generate.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the call control circuitry drops the other party from the call after the other party issues the in-band control signals to the network switch. In this manner, the other party may interject in-band control signals for a period of time, and then be dropped from the call. Dropping may occur upon the other party""s issuance of a particular control signal.
The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, alternative embodiments and features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.